Very Sad News: Jeff Wallack

[HurricaneBob]

Sad day but Jeff would have wanted us laughing, it was great to see everyone at the viewing and funeral. Next time you laugh out loud, Think of Jeff....

[rreihart]

Yeah Bob, you're right. It was good to get to talk to everyone and Jeff would have wanted us laughing.

Jimmy Mincin and I are going to make it a point to come hang with the 'canes sometime soon.

[brandt0110]

Jeff was a friend of my daughter's and I had met him on several occasions. Jeff certainly loved life and life loved him. He never missed an opportunity to make people laugh - even if it was at his own expense. My heart aches for his entire family - but what a wonderful tribute to them to see how well loved Jeff was by so many in the community. How sad that such a talented young man had to be taken at such a young age. There is a poem that goes........"Do not stand at my grave and weep." I think this is what Jeff would want. Don't weep because he is gone - be glad to have known him for this long....

[nece1013]

It was nice seeing everyone; I only wish that it would have been under different circumstances. Jeff was and always will be such a WONDERFUL guy. He will be deeply missed, but NEVER forgotten! It's nice that no matter where we go or what we do, we can all pull together for one another when we need it most. I think that all of us will have a small piece of Jeff in our laughter...

Happy Birthday Jeff! Love Ya!

Nece

[RamRod 1]

Just checked in and heard the news. WOW!!!!!!!!!! Just knew him from Jarretts but we were good friends. He played beautiful licks as easily as I can breath. (While he was talking at the same time). What a loss!

[f.sciarrillo]

I remember him from Jarrett's. I used to go and listen to him play guitar and wish I could play that good. He was always playing Malsteen on the house stereo. I bought my Ibanez (RX450DX) off of him, I worked two jobs an saved up for 6 months to pay that off. I would go up and play it before I payed it off and he would show me some stuff, usually he would break into one of his shred routines and laugh, of course my jaw hit the floor.

He was a good guy, I will not forget him. In fact I still have a George Lynch Poster he gave me. This was 9 or 10 years ago. I will miss him ..

[sixxbitch]

Just as you all have said, Jeff will always be remembered for how much laughter he brought to our lives. Just think how much everyone in Heaven is laughing now!!!!! I am sorry I could not be there with all of you. My thoughts and prayers are with his family. We have truely lost one of our greatest friends. We all love you Jeff, you are deeply missed and will always have a place in our hearts. Thanks for the hilarious memories...

Love, Jhodie

[Pure Evil]

Jeff without a doubt in my mind was the nicest guy I've ever known in my life. I can't even think of a time when he was in a bad mood. He was just one of those people that always seemed to be laughing. I just hung out with him a month or so ago and he played me some of his new music he'd been recording at home. I was on a drummer look out for him to find someone for him to record with. I hope his music isn't lost and is put somewhere for everyone to listen. It was great stuff by a humble guy.

I just spoke to Kathy last night and she said all week somewhere in the back of her mind, all she can hear is Jeff laughing.

That's how he should be remembered.

We'll all miss him.

Chris

[Jim Price]

Just a reminder that I will be dedicating the last half hour of tonight's edition of Q94's "Backyard Rocker" (9:30 - 10 PM) to Jeff Wallack. I will be featuring footage of Jeff playing guitar with Rapid Fire, the Hurricanes, some solo footage, and some personal thoughts and remembrances of Jeff.

[gturchetta]

It's taken this long for me to accept Jeff's passing. I was one of the guys lucky enough to be part of Shattered China. At the time we were closer than brothers. The week before he died we still told each other fart jokes and giggled like a couple fourth graders. Jeff was all about living life and his death took me lower than I ever thought I could get.

He never said a bad thing about anyone - it wasn't in him. He's the coolest cat that I've ever known. Guitar playing aside - he was a special person - a freak - and proud of it.

His ability to play we all know was killer. He practiced his ass off. He didn't really care about playing in bands because he wasn't totally free in the music. Jeff lived like he played. If the groove was right, keep on rollin.

Every time I pick up a guitar I think of him.
Jeff was the smile in the room and the madman all in one. I've never known anyone to be around the guy for more than five minutes without laughing. That's what he did - without even knowing it he gave everyone around him a minute or two to not take themselve or the music so seriously. Then he would shred arpeggios until ....until he wanted to.

Anyway, I haven't been back to Altoona much since leaving town. Lost contact with alot of really good people and just wanted to put in words what I thought of him. He was one of best friends I've ever known.

[jim bagrosky]

I knew Jeff throughout the years, but became close freinds with him in the last couple years. We lived near each other and started hanging out on a regular basis.

When I decided to start my current project and start writing my own material Jeff was my first choice for a lead guitarist. I often imagined how my material would sound with Jeff's guitar fireworks in my songs. I asked him and he kindly agreed. Although we were friends, I remember how nervous I was playing the songs for him for the first time. There I was a drummer turned guitarist and there was Jeff, well I don't need to say anymore. Jeff saw "the diamond in the rough" with my songs and eagerly added parts and complimented my song writing ability. It would have been so easy for someone with his talent to belittle my ideas but he didn't at all. That's just how Jeff was, he always saw the good.

We had come up with some ideas and set a tenative date to get together for a jam session with my drummer John. This was to be the first time he had met my drummer. We decided on a Saturday afternoon. I remember working that day anticipating the jam session. I left work and headed straight to Aldo's to grab some cold ones for the occasion. That's when I found out the terrible news that Jeff had passed away sometime the night before or earlier that day. Needless to say I was speechless.

It has taken me a long time too to make this post. I'm happy to see this thread resurface again for Jeff's memory. Words really can't explain the kind of person Jeff was. Surely one of the nicest, funniest and most talented people I've ever had the pleasure to call one of my freinds.